Actor Siddique has been a strong presence in the Malayalam film industry. Having started his career as a supporting actor, Siddique got to perform serious character roles that redefined his career. Siddique's distinctive performances in 'Lelam,' 'Asuravithu' and the recent 'Uyare' have been well received. It hasn't been long since Siddique's name became synonymous with Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA.) The actor, who is the joint secretary of the association, is also a close companion of actor Dileep, an accused in the infamous actress attack case of 2017.
Siddique backed Dileep and AMMA at large, when the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) raised scathing allegations of misogyny against AMMA and the Malayalam film industry.
Onmanorama caught up with the actor to ask Just One Question: Why did he choose to play the role of supportive father of Parvathy Thiruvothu, one of the key members of WCC, in 'Uyare' at a time when the industry was divided over allegations of misogyny?
The actor revealed that his character in Uyare was supposed to be played by another actor. Siddique landed the role quite unexpectedly. Director Manu Ashokan approached Siddique to play the character of Raveendran, protagonist Pallavi Raveendran's (Parvathy's) father when there was a clash between 'Uyare's' production schedules and the available dates of the assigned actor.
“I get to perform the character rejected by others very often. I don't usually turn down the characters that come to me. I believe that rejecting an opportunity is not doing justice to my talent. A director approaches me to perform a character because he thinks I could do it well. Rejecting it means I am doubtful about my own talent. I never do that,” he said.
Adding to it, Siddique said that his willingness to play Parvathy's father in Uyare indicates that there is still love and harmony within the film fraternity. “My appearance in Uyare indicates that there is no such problem between us. It's the media and outsiders who create problems. I've great love for Parvathy and all other colleagues in this industry,” he said.
Siddique's latest flick 'Shubharathri' is all set to release on Saturday. The Dileep-starrer also has Anu Sithara, Manikandan Achari and Prasanth Alexander in main roles.
